For mobile terminals such as mobile phones, for example, various input devices that a user uses to operate a terminal have been developed according to the function or usage of each terminal. In many cases, a user conducts by directly pressing mechanical keys, buttons, or the like, which are disposed on the surface of the body of a mobile terminal, with a finger and the like.
Normally, mechanical keys (e.g. numerical keys and the like) of an input device in such a terminal are preliminarily arranged in accordance with the primary usage of the terminal. Therefore, in general, the physical key arrangement provided initially cannot be changed afterwards.
Incidentally, nowadays, as there are mobile phones installed with digital cameras or music playing functions, various kinds of functions are incorporated in small mobile terminals. There are those, such as mobile phones, installed with many auxiliary functions besides their primary terminal usage or those equipped with a plurality of primary usages in one terminal, such as schedule management or address books as in PDA (personal digital assistant) and the like. In such a terminal, if the key arrangement is fixed, sometimes a user is significantly inconvenienced during operation input depending on the function being used.
In order to eliminate such inconveniences in operation inputs, input devices have been disclosed comprising a touch panel which is configured by arranging a clear input unit on the front surface of a liquid crystal display screen consisting of a display unit (e.g. refer to Patent Document 1). Generally, an input device having such a touch panel displays an image of operation keys, buttons and the like, and characters and a string of characters prompting an input (from hereon referred as “object”) on the display screen of the touch panel. If a user presses an object displayed on the display screen, an input unit corresponding to the location in the touch panel receives the input.
A folding type mobile phone described in Patent Document 1 displays objects in an arbitrary arrangement on the display screen, is capable of receiving operation inputs from a user, and is capable of configuring a free arrangement of keys and the like. As a result, the mobile phone is capable of providing very favorable operability by arbitrarily changing the arrangement of objects according to the function, every time when each function of the terminal is switched. When the user uses a digital camera function equipped in the mobile phone, for example, the mobile phone is capable of displaying on the touch panel an object that constitutes an operation part for a digital camera, and receiving operation inputs. In contrast, when a user inputs characters for e-mails and the like using the mobile phone, the mobile phone is capable of receiving inputs by displaying an object that constitutes a keyboard such as one used in a personal computer on a touch panel. In this manner, this mobile phone is capable of receiving operation inputs by respectively optimizing one input device for a plurality of functions as a result of comprising a touch panel.
Furthermore, since an input device having a touch panel receives inputs according to an input method in which a user directly contacts (touches) objects that are displayed on a display unit with a fingertip or the like, the user can conduct very intuitive operations. That is, the user conducts operations by directly touching the objects that are being displayed on a screen with a fingertip or the like, following guidance that is displayed on the screen of a touch panel. Therefore, the user can operate a terminal very easily by intuitive operations in accordance with the guidance displayed on the screen, resulting in an expected reduction in error operations.
In this manner, because of the advantages of a touch panel that can enhance the degree of freedom in configuring an input unit and that allows a user to conduct operation inputs very intuitively, there is an increasing tendency towards terminal devices with an input device comprising a touch panel.
Besides mobile terminals, such an input device having a touch panel like the one described above is provided for an ATM (Automated Teller Machine) at a bank and the like, and a ticketing machine at a station and the like, and is commonly used nowadays. Furthermore, when an employee processes an order from a customer in shops such as fast food restaurants and the like, the work is conducted using a terminal device comprising an input device with a touch panel such as one described above. By using a touch panel for an input device, mechanical operation buttons, keys or the like, such as a keyboard, besides a touch panel becomes inessential. Therefore, less space is required for arranging mechanical operation buttons or the like on the main body of a terminal device, and thus, overall down-sizing of the terminal device itself can be achieved. This, in turn, makes it possible to enhance the degree of freedom for the mounting location of a terminal device in various shops, inside train stations, and the like.
Furthermore, the operation inputs of a personal computer (PC) may also be conducted from a display that comprises a touch panel. In general, operation inputs with respect to a PC vary depending on the application program to be used (from hereon, simply referred as “application”). However, as a result of development of a GUI (Graphical User Interface), many applications have been designed to conduct intuitive operations. Moreover, even if applications to be used are different, many operations of files or folders conducted on a desktop that is displayed on a display are common due to requirements with respect to the intuitive operability. Therefore, many known operation inputs of a PC were conducted mainly by using input devices such as a keyboard or a mouse, but a user may now conduct such operation inputs very intuitively using a display comprising a touch panel (for example, see Patent Document 2).
FIG. 11 is an illustration schematically illustrating a configuration of a data transfer system that includes an information processor described in the Patent Document 2. In FIG. 11, a data transfer system 100 comprises a data storage playback device 110 and a mobile type data storage playback device (mobile type storage playback device) 120. The data storage playback device 110 has storage and playback functions of data (for example, music data), and the mobile type storage playback device 120 also has storage and playback functions of music data. The data storage playback device 110 and the mobile type storage playback device 120 are communicably connected to each other via a communication cable 130.
The data storage playback device 110 is capable of storing music data ripped from a CD or music data downloaded from a music distribution server (not shown in Figures) via a network NT. A user can transfer the music data stored in the data storage playback device 110 to the mobile type storage playback device 120 by conducting operations on a display unit with a touch panel 140. As a result, the data storage playback device 120 is capable of reproducing music data by storing the transferred music data even after the connection to the communication cable 130 is cut off.
FIG. 12 is an illustration schematically illustrating a user conducting operations of a folder on the display unit with a touch panel 140 in the data storage playback device 110. As shown in FIG. 12(A), an icon A 100 and an icon A 200 for starting up an application are displayed on the display unit with a touch panel 140. When the user directly contacts (touches) these icons with a fingertip or the like, the corresponding application starts. It is presumed to be set in such a way that the start up operation may be conducted by an operation of quickly touching twice (double touching) an icon on the display unit with a touch panel 140, which is equivalent to a double-click conducted by an input device such as a mouse. Otherwise, it is also possible to presume to be set in such a way that the operation may be conducted by touching once (single touch) an icon on the display unit with a touch panel 140, which is equivalent to a single-click conducted by an input device such as a mouse.
Furthermore, an icon F100 representing a folder A and an icon F200 representing a folder B are displayed on a display unit with a touch panel unit 140. Each of these folders A and B may include a plurality of files and/or more folders according to the hierarchical structure of a conventional directory. Furthermore, in the event of conducting an operation regarding these folders A and B, the user can conduct an operation corresponding to a conventional operation method of folders that has been carried out with PCs.
Therefore, for example, when a user double touches (or single-touches) the icon F100 of the folder A as shown in FIG. 12(A), the data storage playback device 110 can display files that are included in the folder A as shown in FIG. 12(B). If another folder is further included in the folder A, by the user's double-touch (or single-touch), the data storage playback device 110 can display files and/or more folders that are included in the folder. In FIG. 12(B), a folder window is displayed, and files in the folder A are displayed.
In general, in an input device such as the display unit with a touch panel 140 of the data storage playback device 110, when an operation of closing a folder window that is displaying files and the like included in a folder takes place, the user has to touch an icon as a closing operation. In FIG. 16 (B), for example, the user can close a folder window (from hereon referred as “closing” a folder) by touching an x-mark that is displayed in the upper right of the folder window. Moreover, when a file and the like included in a folder is displayed, in case of moving to the hierarchy that is immediately above in the hierarchical structure of the directory (from hereon, this operation is also referred as “closing” a folder), the user has to touch an icon such as “return” or the like.